Masilo's Sacrifice on tour

Published: 13 December 2022
Reporter: Vera Liber

Dada Masilo's The Sacrifice Credit: John Hogg

The UK première of South African choreographer Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice, inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s score and Pina Bausch’s dance work The Rite of Spring, opens a 14-venue tour at Brighton Dome on 21 and 22 February, followed by shows at Sadler’s Wells then Plymouth, Canterbury, Southampton, Edinburgh, Bradford, Milton Keynes, Salford, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Hull and Newcastle.

Soweto-born Masilo fuses different dance forms and retells classic stories to speak to black identity and feminism. For The Sacrifice, she has combined the European heritage of The Rite of Spring with the rhythmic and expressive movements of Tswana, the traditional dance of Botswana.

Masilo said, “I wanted to explore ritual, what sacrifice meant to the Tswana people then and what it means now. Narrative is very important to me. I wanted to create a story that is deeper than a chosen maiden dancing herself to death.”

The work is performed to an original score by violinist Leroy Mapholo, pianist Nathi Shongwe and opera and gospel choir singer Ann Masina.

    Related listings

  • The Sacrifice - Dada Masilo (Dance Consortium)

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